Pros
After working for them for 9 months, there are no positives other than having the experience of working with other excellent mental health providers that unfortunately have also left the practice.
Cons
-Toxic environment and culture -Clients complain about billing discrepancies that as a provider I could not resolve. Calling the billing department is close to impossible because nobody answers the phone. - Because they hire individuals who do not have any mental health background, the support staff in the clinic is rude to clients on the phone and even face-to-face. They have no idea how to handle a client in crisis. -There is limited communication with clients when they are onboarded and this results in cancellations or no-shows. -This new contract that you have to sign with LifeStance pretty much makes you an indentured servant. The recruiters make things sound lucrative with the Revenue Value Unit model they use. They promise a 6 month advance on your salary while you build your practice. They promise that you will have a good patient load within 6 months so you will break even, and do not have to pay them back the salary advance. They omit to tell you that you are competing with the other 100 providers in the area for the same pool of patients. They also do not give you a clear idea of how much you will make per patient visit because the sheet they show you only show averages of the ideal scenario. -The company does not care about the retention of providers because there is another naive soul around the corner who will take their job offer. My advice: If you have to accept the job offer because you need a job, have the lawyer go over the contract to explain things. If you sign the contract, do not take the advance.
